Two Birds, Meet One Stone: Why You Should Be Doing Back Exercises Now

Two things typically occur after I’ve prescribed back and core strengthening for my patients with back pain. The patients that do the exercises feel better. Then they stop doing the exercises.

The small percentage of patients that do continue exercising, however, tell me that they are motivated to do so because they actually find they look better.

Not surprisingly, vanity ends up being a more sustainable motivator than pain reduction. Luckily, the same exercises that make the body look better also make the patient feel better physically. This is medication with a visibly positive side effect.

I have taken the liberty of coining my own Greek phrase for this: Callipygous Hyporachialgia. The literal translation means diminished spine pain from a good-looking bottom.

It is impossible to agree on what makes a bottom good-looking. Likewise, pain is not easily depicted in a few sentences. Nonetheless, we each know good-looking when we see it, and we each know pain when we feel it.

First, I'll delve into what causes back pain. Then I'll go into how targeting that pain with strength training can totally transform your body, which will help you feel more attractive.

Pain

The experience of pain always involves both a pain generator and the brain’s interpretation of the painful signals that it receives from that generator. There are many possible pain generators for back pain, but most of them are triggered when stressed by movement or loading. Core and back-strengthening functions to stiffen the spine and shield stress by a well-orchestrated contraction of the back and core muscles.

The core is commonly used to refer to those muscles in the front of our abdomen. However, when I use the word core, I include the “hidden core,” which consists of the muscles in the back of our bodies. These neglected muscles play the most critical role in alleviating back pain. The hidden core includes the multifidus muscles (back muscles that line the spine) and the gluteus muscles (the butt muscles). These muscles are attached to the side and front core muscles by a fascia. This fascia allows for an orchestrated contraction of this belt of muscles, which constricts the trunk and stiffens the spine. This contraction also acts as a “hydraulic amplifier” and accounts for part of the shielding against stress discussed above.

Strengthening the core allows simple tasks like walking, going from sitting to standing, and bending to be performed with less pain. Bending is accomplished by “hip-hinging” rather than “back-bending.” This modified action shields the body from pain, as the pain generator — no matter what it is — is no longer stimulated because the spine is held rigid.

In addition, the muscles of the hidden core can, themselves, be the source of pain. Pain arises in muscles or support structures when they are underutilized. When subjects are placed on strict bed rest, for example, many of them will develop back pain that is similar to that produced by an injury. Pain can also arise from spasm of these muscles. Exercising the back muscles will improve these muscular causes of pain as well.

Finally, our brain’s interpretation of pain can be altered favorably by exercise. By exercising the back and core muscles, the brain, like the muscles themselves, will adapt. The brain’s adaptation results in a new awareness of posture and form. In addition, the capacity to perform a variety of tasks with the improved posture and form will result in less pain during these practiced tasks. This allows for a biological “bait and switch,” whereby the brain’s expectations are changed and its subsequent interpretation of pain positively altered.

Strengthening the entire core fortifies the connection between the brain and the core through awareness, posture, and form.

Keep reading to find out how and why strengthening your core and back to alleviate back pain can make you look and feel more attractive...